Stauros
The Stauros (Greek: σταυρός Sutoorosu) is a dagger-shaped prototype starship built by Bellerophon and currently stationed within Aetherius. Description The Stauros is a massive starship created by Bellerophon with the aim of gathering a sufficient number of humans to allow for repopulation if an apocalyptic even came to pass. As such it not only holds stasis chambers for the human and animal population but also indexing drives and fabrication units necessary to construct a basic settlement. The ship is heavily armed to fend off attackers and provide long-range bombardment if needed. Characteristics The Stauros is roughly 19 kilometers long and is completely completely autonomous thanks to an advanced network of computers. Its size makes it extremely difficult to manoeuvre without damaging the superstructure, especially within the atmosphere. Power generation The Stauros' main reactor is modeled after the Magic Star, although it cannot recharge itself on its own and cannot hold as much energy. Propulsion Thirteen massive repulsion-based engines placed in five thruster banks give it impressive linear acceleration for its size, enough for it to escape the gravity well of a planet. The ship's internal systems are sufficiently powerful to keep the vessel aloft within a planet's atmosphere even without the assistance of the main engines, although they are still required for the Stauros to move. The ship is in possession of an experimental "Warp Drive" which allows it to travel faster by "punching a hole" in the space-time fabric of the universe before the bow of the ship and connecting it to a hole at the destination coordinates. It operates on the same principles as Bellerophon's rifts and thus it requires a beacon for the ship to lock on in order to perform an accurate jump, although it is possible to perform a relatively precise in-plane transition towards an unmarked area if the ship has many points of reference to use for triangulation. Theoretically it is possible to reach other, unknown dimensions with the Warp drive but doing so is exceedingly dangerous and thus has never been attempted for fear of losing the ship and all its occupants. Offensive and defensive systems The Stauros has many weapon emplacements, including: *Fulgor Pulse Ray Cannon: fires a purplish beam of eldritch energy, powerful enough to disintegrate a high-class devil with a single hit. *Thunderstorm Coil: releases a veritable net of lightning in the sky to disintegrate targets at close range. *Etherion Cannon: fires an explosive projectile composed of light magic powerful enough to destroy a small mountain or a beamwave capable of reducing one into molten rock with sustained fire. *Heavy Incinerator Missile Array: deploys swarms of fragmenting omni-directional self-propelled antimatter charged rockets, each powerful enough to destroy a small town. *Antimatter Torpedo Silo: launches a powerful long-ranged strategic missile loaded with antimatter, powerful enough to level a mountain range. *Dark Star Energy Projector: a spinal-mounted energy weapon that fires a beam of scorching heat. Although inspired by Ars Almadel Salomonis, it differs from it because the beam explodes on impact rather than pierce through and it can be fired several times with only a minute interval before the main generator requires recharging. Bellerophon used it to obliterate the floating city of Agreas and much of the surrounding continent. A majority of the weapon emplacements are located on the ship's ventral side in order to favor the bombardment of ground troops and fortifications, while only some are located on the dorsal side. The Etherion cannons are placed near the side trenches to create an all-encompassing field of fire while at the same time favoring long-ranged broadsides. Despite its impressive firepower the design is far from perfect, as the dorsal side and the aft remain relatively undefended if not for the Dissipation Shield Array, which acts in tandem with the Distortion Driver to absorb and deflect attacks thrown its way. Complement An average of roughly 20000 Aetherius Sentinels are carried onboard the Stauros at all times. There are twelve hangar bays located on the sides, within the trenches, to allow for rapid deployment while the ship is firing. The bridge of the ship is placed deep within the structure for added protection and contains the command throne from which Bellerophon can direct the flow of battle.